


Fire and Flowers

by liebstes



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Title: Sea Hawk is an Arsonist, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Minor Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra), no beta we die like men, only rated teen because they say fuck, this is the only het pairing i care about
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:13:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24659683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liebstes/pseuds/liebstes
Summary: Sea Hawk was currently trying (and failing) to put out the fire he had somehow started in this trashcan in the public restroom. Of a coffee shop. The same coffee shop that he started a fire in last week. Of course, because he’s perpetually cursed, a woman walks in.But, wow. The woman who walked in and is staring at Sea Hawk, mouth agape, is the most beautiful person he has seen, possibly ever, no, definitely ever. He pauses his unsuccessful smothering as his lizard brain forces his mouth to open and say, “Well, come here often?” with his signature drawl that worked about 10% of the time. He was feeling lucky?“Uhhhh… okay. What the fuck?” Mermista asked in a surprisingly calm, monotone voice.---------------------------------------In which Mermista owns a coffee shop and Sea Hawk is a walking fire hazard.
Relationships: Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 90





	Fire and Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone!! Yes, I know I've already done a Starbucks Mermista/Sea Hawk AU but my tiny lizard brain loves coffee shop romances. This one is a slightly slower burn, and it actually took me two days instead of two hours like the last one. Here's to hoping it's better?

Listen. It’s not that Sea Hawk _meant_ to keep starting fires in this coffee shop. It just… seems to happen. Subsequently, Frosta gifted him a customized white T-shirt with ‘ARSONIST’ in big red block letters. Sea Hawk only wears it to sleep, and one time to Target but that was an accident, okay? 

Maybe this wasn’t the best time to be thinking about that, seeing as Sea Hawk was currently trying (and failing) to put out the fire he had somehow started in this trashcan in the public restroom. Of a coffee shop. The same coffee shop that he started a fire in last week. And it’ll probably be the same one he’s banished from if he doesn’t get this stupid fire to _stop fucking burning._ He was quietly muttering to himself as he tried to smother the small flame with paper towels, “Can you just stop fucking burning, Jesus Christ I didn’t even mean to make this one, can you just go awayyyyy!”

Of course, because he’s perpetually cursed, a woman walks in. Because he forgot to lock the door. And he’s in a gender-neutral stall. Great.

But, wow. The woman who walked in and is staring at Sea Hawk, mouth agape, is the most beautiful person he has seen, possibly ever, no, definitely ever. He pauses his unsuccessful smothering as his lizard brain forces his mouth to open and say, “Well, come here often?” with his signature drawl that worked about 10% of the time. He was feeling lucky? 

“Uhhhh… okay. What the fuck?” The woman asked in a surprisingly calm, monotone voice. “Oh, this? This is nothing, don’t worry about it! I have everything under control!” Sea Hawk tried to reassure this mysterious wonder woman, but the effect was ruined as the flame quickly spread and was now a full-on fire. Hmm. Interesting development. 

“Ugh, of course, this happens when I’m working alone. Ok, get damp paper towels on that, like, now,” the woman instructed in a voice that made Sea Hawk follow immediately. After using about half of the paper towel supply the fire was finally out, and Sea Hawk felt he owed the woman an explanation, even though he wasn’t sure what it exactly was. 

“Yes, well, thank you for your help, kind stranger. I assure you I did not start that on purpose, heh, I suppose I have a talent for making fire! It’s one of my great quirks, and also oh god please don’t tell the owner what happened I really like the coffee here okay they’re the only place with oat milk in like ten miles and I mean I guess I could go over to Bright Moon but like-”, Sea Hawks rambling was cut short when the woman interrupted, saying, “Oh my god you _have_ to stop talking. First of all, hi, I’m the owner, and I guess I won’t banish you but only if you, like, promise to not set my entire store on fire, holy shit.” 

As Sea Hawk took in this information, he responded with, “My! Your generosity is surely unmatched! How gracious of you to be this kind to me, I enjoy your store greatly and sincerely wish no harm to befall upon it!”. Sea Hawk gazed hopefully at this wonderful beautiful owner, who replied with, “Uh, ok. Thanks… I guess. I gotta clean this mess up so if you don’t mind…”. 

Sea Hawk nearly hit himself after realizing he had not offered to rid his mess. “Oh, where are my manners! I apologize, of course, I shall assist you in cleaning this putrid mess. It’s only fair-” but was once again interrupted when the owner said, “Actually, I was gonna ask you to leave the bathroom so I can take care of it. It is like, my job, I guess,” she said with an eye roll that almost made Sea Hawk swoon. 

“Of course! My apologies, let me get out of her way,” said Sea Hawk, backing out of the bathroom and giving a quick thumbs-up before running out of the store. 

**Sea Hawk:** I BELIEVE I AM IN LOVE  
**Scorpia:** great!!! did you get me my mocha?  
**Sea Hawk:** AH. WELL  
**Sea Hawk:** I SINCERELY APOLOGIZE. I WAS DISTRACTED PUTTING OUT A FIRE WITH THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN AND TRYING TO CONVINCE HER I AM NOT A CRIMINAL  
**Scorpia:** oh. buddy.  
**Sea Hawk:** YES. I KNOW. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sea Hawk had a mission. He was determined. He was going to wow the coffee shop owner so hard, she’d forget he almost set her bathroom on fire. He can only see this going smoothly!

“Listen, bud, I think any of your clothes would be good! You look great in anything!” Scorpia tried to reason with Sea Hawk after having been face-timed for the seventeenth time to help Sea Hawk figure out which shirt to wear to the store. 

Sea Hawk dropped onto his bed dramatically with a huff, “You do not understand, my dear friend. She must think I am a criminal! I am going to prove to her I’m not!”. Scorpia’s face looking uncertain on his screen, saying, “And you’re gonna do that by wearing a Hawaiian shirt?”

Sea Hawk picked up his phone again to look at Scorpia and simply say, “Well, yes!”. Scorpia sighed but helped him choose between the blue and the green one. “Hey, if you don’t get too distracted, could you try and get me a mocha this time?” Scorpia asked. Sea Hawk gave a thumbs up and hung up to finish getting ready. If the beautiful coffee shop owner isn’t wowed by his blue Hawaiian shirt and single gold earring, Sea Hawk wasn’t sure what would. 

As he made his way into Salineas, Sea Hawk was confident. He was going to do this. He was going to _woo_ her. When he approached the line, he glanced and saw the owner was at the register. He gave a mental _‘Hurrah!’_. She was wearing a nametag today, with the name ‘Mermista’ in small print and a sticker of a dolphin. If it was anatomically possible, Sea Hawk is pretty sure he’d have hearts in his eyes. 

As he came up to the register, Mermista gave him a quick look and say, “Oh, hey. You’re not gonna set me on fire, right?” with a deadpan voice, causing other customers nearby to raise their eyebrows in alarm. 

“Ahaha! You are as funny as you are beautiful! Fear not, I have no ill intent. I am simply here for one of your delicious beverages!” Sea Hawk replies, mentally cringing inside because did he really just say ‘delicious beverages’, what the fuck?

“Okayyyy, so you’re kinda weird. Whatever, what can I get for you?” Mermista asked. She did a quick eye roll and Sea Hawk gazed at how wonderful she was. What was he doing here? Coffee? Yes, this is a coffee shop. Maybe order coffee. “Yes! Uh, thank you! I would love to have a coffee. A medium would be wonderful!” Sea Hawk said a bit frantically. 

“Uhh, just, coffee? Like do you want milk or anything?” Mermista said with a weird look. Every word that came out of her voice allowed Sea Hawk to hear how beautiful it was, so he wasn’t reallyyyy listening. “No! That’s okay! Thank you!” he said, slapping down a five-dollar bill and hurrying to the side. 

“Black coffee is only two dollars,” Mermista said, staring at him. This was going slightly differently than planned, Sea Hawk realized. 

“Keep the change!” he said excitedly. He’s pretty sure he would empty his wallet if Mermista asked. 

He was able to see Mermista interact with the last two people in line, and began to make the drinks. He admired her concentration and fluidity in making lattes and flat whites, and almost jumped when she shoved a coffee at him. Sea Hawk almost fainted when she gave him a slight grin saying, “Here you go. You can order something more adventurous next time, like, if you want. It’ll be on the house.”

Sea Hawk was shocked. His planned worked. Wait, of course it worked! How could it not! The lovely Mermista had been wooed and was even offering a free drink! “I thank you greatly! I guarantee I’ll be back to get another fabulous beverage! I wish you a great day!” Sea Hawk almost shouted as he exited the store. 

As he got outside and took a sip, he realized he ordered black coffee instead of his usual toffee crunch latte with whipped cream. Oh, and Scorpia’s mocha. However, the interaction with Mermista was enough to keep a smile on his face. 

**Sea Hawk:** MAY I INTEREST YOU IN A BLACK COFFEE INSTEAD OF A MOCHA? I HEAR IT IS ALL THE RAGE THIS SEASON  
**Scorpia:** so i assume you were the one that got wooed?  
**Sea Hawk:** HOW CORRECT YOU ARE, HOWEVER, I BELIEVE I WAS SUCCESSFUL IN THE ACT OF WOOING AS WELL!  
**Scorpia:** nice job buddy!!! maybe next time you can woo her so hard you remember my drink :-)

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mermista was like, about to commit first-degree murder in a Trader Joe’s. She was about 15 seconds away from shanking the lady in front of her with a pen if she _didn’t move her goddamn cart._

Okay, maybe Mermista was in a bad mood. But like, just a little one. It was Sunday, so the shop closed early, but she read a Yelp review that called her rude and annoying and was about to take her anger out on a half-broken shopping cart. Like, she just had to make people coffee, not be their best friend. Ugh. 

As she finally maneuvered over to the ice cream. She met eyes with a guy a few feet from her. 

Shit. It was the not-arsonist. 

They both opened their mouths at the same time saying, “Ugh, I swear I am not stalking you,” “Oh my! It appears Lady Luck wants us to meet again!” Mermista gave an unimpressed eye roll at the notion, “Yeah, whatever, don’t get weird about it.”

As she reached forward to the last tub of mint chocolate ice cream, it seems he did too. Ugh, of course, this day couldn’t get any worse. Now she was going to have to fight over ice cream. 

“Ah! It seems we have a similar taste, what a great choice indeed. I assure you the ice cream is yours, my dear!” the guy said with a smile. _My dear?_ Sure, she was used to some customers talking her up, but that phrase made her blush, but like, only a little. 

“Oh. Thanks. Maybe you’re not as lame as I thought,” she said, putting the tub in her cart. Of course, the guy had to ruin it by asking, “You’ve been thinking of me?” with such a hopeful voice that it made Mermista’s eyes roll again.

“And, you’re back to being lame. Better luck next time,” Mermista said, gently pushing her cart and starting to walk to the register. 

“Wait!” she heard the guy say, and ugh, fine, she turned around. 

“I just… wanted to thank you. For not judging me harshly after our first meeting. You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and I, uh, apologize for any trouble I’ve made,” he said, almost gingerly, afraid of her reaction. 

Mermista was shocked. She kinda thought the guy wasn’t the type to be sincere, but she was proven wrong. “Oh. It’s fine, don’t worry about it. You’re not the first customer to start a fire in the bathroom. You’d be surprised,” she said, remembering that customer who casually lit their cup on fire as soon as they had left the store. 

“Still. It was not a gentlemanly thing to do! It is not a fair representation of my character, well, actually, maybe it is, I do have a knack for accidentally starting things on fire, but uh, that is beside the point!” the guy said again, and Mermista was kind of tired referring to him as ‘that guy’ or ‘not-arsonist’ so she contemplated if it was worth it before asking, “Ugh, okay, whatever. What’s your name?”

She saw the smile break out on his face, _ughhh, he’s gonna be lame_ , before answering, “My name is Sea Hawk! It is lovely to officially meet you!”. She gave him a once over before saying, “Yeah, sure, nice to meet you. I’ll see you around,” continuing to the register, ready to drown her feelings and whatever that weird conversation was in mint chip ice cream. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adora had been working at Salineas since the opening, so Mermista didn’t feel _too_ bad about asking her to cover her shift. 

**Mermista:** hey. would u mind covering the afternoon shift? i think i just need a day off. dont feel great  
**Adora:** u bought regular ice cream instead of non-dairy again didnt u  
**Mermista:** ughhhh ur fired  
**Adora:** ill cover ur shift, no worries  
**Mermista:** ok ur unfired 

Sea Hawk walked up to Salineas with a hop to his step, he was going to see the lovely Mermista! He was determined to not forget his order this time. Oh, and maybe finally get Scorpia that mocha. 

As soon as he opened the door, he stopped. Instead of Mermista, there was someone else at the register. A slight wrinkle in his plan, but not to worry! Of course, Mermista doesn’t work every day, she works hard and needs time off! He felt proud knowing she was at home resting.

Or wait, what if something was wrong? Could she have fallen sick? Gotten into an accident? Dear God, did someone set her on fire? As Sea Hawk waited in line he considered everything that could be wrong. He almost missed the, “Welcome to Salineas! What can I get for you?” from the blonde woman at the register. He realized it was time to order, but instead of acting like a normal human being, he instead rushed up and quickly asked, “Is Mermista okay?”. 

The woman had visible surprise on her face and gave him a look. “Are you the Hawk guy Mermista was talking about?”. 

Sea Hawk felt heaven reaching down and surrounding him. He’s pretty sure he heard some cherubs singing. Mermista had _talked about him!_ To her _coworkers!_ He puffed out his chest a little and replied, “Yes! That is me! How lovely to hear that Mermista has mentioned me, I hope only positive things” with a slight eyebrow wiggle. The woman, Adora, as he read her name tag, did not look impressed. “Yeah, she said you tried to burn the place down.”

Sea Hawk dramatically gasped. “I did no such thing! I thought I had cleared up the situation to dear Mermista, it was simply a mistake, I intended this establishment no harm, I promise! I-” but was interrupted when Adora laughed and said, “Dude, chill, I’m kidding! She explained what happened. I was just messing with you. Oh, and Mermista’s fine. Just sick from eating dairy.”

Though the situation is explained, Sea Hawk still worried about Mermista. He _should_ have taken the ice cream from her! Next time, he simply must ignore his gentleman instincts. “Ah. Well, that is good to hear! Oh, I mean, not good that she’s sick, just good that nothing else happened!”

Adora had a grin on her face as if she knew something that Sea Hawk didn’t. “Uh-huh. So are you gonna… order something? Or did you just come in here to flirt with my boss?”

Sea Hawk was not a blusher, ( _sure, liar_ his brain supplied) but he felt heat rise to his face as Adora implied what she thought he was doing. “No, I am, uh, actually here for a drink! Does, uh, Mermista not like when I, uh, talk to her?” he asked, suddenly nervous. Had he been making poor Mermista uncomfortable? “I can stop if uh, she told you she doesn’t like it,” he said, sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. 

Adora stared at him a bit longer. She had a tendency to do that, and it, frankly, worried the shit out of Sea Hawk. 

“You like, actually like her, huh? I was just messing around again, she hasn’t said anything about you being creepy to her. I mean, she calls you annoying, but she calls everyone annoying, so I wouldn’t take it to heart. She just told me to make sure you don’t go unsupervised for longer than ten minutes, due to your tendency of like, setting things on fire, I guess?” Adora replied, but with a friendly tone that reassured Sea Hawk he hadn’t gone and fucked everything up. 

“Oh, how lovely! Thank you for the reassurance, truly. I don’t want to take any more of your time, I’m sure you have plenty to do! If I could just get a toffee latte with whipped cream, I shall be out of your way quicker than you could shout ‘Adventure!’” Sea Hawk supplied with a puff of his chest. 

“Okay. Sure, that’ll be four bucks,” Adora said with a slight laugh. Sea Hawk felt proud that, even though Mermista was gone, he still got a laugh out of the lovely Adora. Today had not been a failure! He even remembered his drink this time! 

It wasn’t until he was in his car that he remembered about Scorpia’s mocha. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sea Hawk continued to visit Salineas almost every other day, and more often than not, Mermista was there! After the reassurance from Adora, he continued his rain of compliments on her beauty and work style and even gave her an extra bottle of Lactaid once she called out sick again. He was proud of the sudden surprise and happy look on Mermista’s face when he delivered it, but was quickly replaced with the monotone attitude he had gotten used to. He had learned more about the store, why Mermista decided to risk everything for a coffee shop instead of using her marine biology degree. He had felt so impressed by Mermista’s dedication and passion for the place, he found himself thinking about her frequently during the day. Sometimes he wondered if she did the same. 

He had also met the other workers; Bow, Glimmer, and Perfuma were all exceptionally kind and funny, they consistently made jokes about Sea Hawk’s infatuation with their boss but it was never mean-spirited. Sea Hawk had accepted that it was common knowledge and that Mermista obviously didn’t feel the same. That had brought his mood down for a few days, but he still treasured the friendship he had with her and the rest of the staff at Salineas. 

A few weeks ago he had dragged Scorpia with him after forgetting her mocha for approximately the sixteenth time, and that fateful day, Perfuma had been working. This time, Sea Hawk wasn’t the one who forgot Scorpia’s drink, but rather Scorpia herself, after becoming extremely fascinated with Perfuma and vice versa. Although it was lovely that his dear friend had found love, it was only a bitter reminder to Sea Hawk about his unrequited feelings. 

**Scorpia:** here is your daily reminder to tell mermista how you feel!!! communication is key!!!!!!  
**Sea Hawk:** BUT THEN I WOULD NO LONGER BE ABLE TO PURCHASE THEIR DELICIOUS COFFEE  
**Scorpia:** oooh youre right, mermista would never make you pay again because she Likes You!!!!!!!!!  
**Sea Hawk:** THAT IS NOT TRUTHFUL AND YOU KNOW IT!  
**Scorpia:** actually, i do have a pretty reliable inside source to back up my reasoning  
**Sea Hawk:** DO NOT USE YOUR WONDERFUL GIRLFRIEND AGAINST ME  
**Scorpia:** i have noooo idea what youre taking about ;))))

**Adora:** hey remember how i covered for u when ur parents visited?  
**Mermista:** ugh what do u want  
**Adora:** i want sea hawk to stop acting like a pining idiot and for u to tell him  
**Mermista** nah im good

**Bow:** adora has sent me on a mission  
**Mermista:** if ur about to say the words sea hawk, communication, or crush i will literally fire u rn  
**Bow:** whAAT??? me?????? i was just gonna ask u if we need more whipping cream???????  
**Mermista:** u know we dont need more, asshole 

**Perfuma:** hello mermista!!! i was just talking to scorpia, and she said how much sea hawk has been talking about you!!!!!  
**Mermista:** arent u literally supposed to be working right now  
**Perfuma:** i am multitasking!!!!! 

Mermista had enough once Glimmer woke her up at 3 am with texts about the not-arsonist she like, definitely does not have feelings for. She just liked seeing him smile and hearing his lame jokes. And if she got better quality toffee syrup, that was no one’s business but hers. 

Though, in the quiet of her apartment, she felt as if she had nowhere to hide. No more excuses. Why was she so scared of admitting her feelings? She was like, a grown woman and was acting like an elementary school kid with a crush. 

Mermista groaned into her pillow for possibly the tenth time that night. Life hates her. She hates life. At least that feeling is mutual. 

One thing Mermista was like, a pro at, was not acknowledging her feelings. She knew that she was scared that Sea Hawk didn’t actually like her, that she was too boring or serious for such a hyper, interesting guy. He’s always talking about adventure, but the only places Mermista goes, literally ever, are work and the grocery store. Sometimes game night at Netossa’s and Spinerella’s, but she had been missing even those nights. 

But still. There was something about Sea Hawk that made her crush stick around. Maybe it was the fact that he had a dog named Boat, which like, was the most hilarious but also lamest thing ever. He was such a dork. She had learned that he works at the public library in town, which contradicts everything about his loud and bubbling personality but also makes sense. He writes romance novels in his free time. Mermista was going to _die_. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Adora** to _gay people only_ group chat: ok. i think we’ve all had enough of mermista and sea hawk being stupid about each other. lets do something.  
**Catra:** if i have to hear adora reenact sea hawks compliments one more time i am literally going to divorce her  
**Glimmer:** u guys arent even married  
**Catra:** ill marry her then divorce her  
**Adora:** babe :-(  
**Bow:** what r we supposed to do????? everytime we bring it up to mermista she turns all grouchy???? like more than usual?????  
**Scorpia:** yeah, not lookin’ like Sea Hawks gonna speak up anytime soon either.  
**Perfuma:** we’ll just have to send them on a date then!!!  
**Adora:** and how do u expect to do that, knowing both will say no  
**Glimmer:** well _obviously_ we’ll have scorps invite sea hawk somewhere and have someone else invite mermista to the same place and tell them its a group thing, but SURPRISE!!!! its not  
**Bow:** how much have u thought about this  
**Catra:** obviously too much 

**Scorpia:** hey buddy!!! are you down to go to the beach on sunday??? bring stuff for smores :-)  
**Sea Hawk:** HOW THOUGHTFUL OF YOU! I WOULD LOVE TO ATTEND WITH YOU

**Glimmer:** hey!!! the staff wants to do a beach night on sunday, u down???  
**Mermista:** ugh fine if its just u guys 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mermista decided she had no problems firing all her staff/friends and doing everything herself. As she waited on the beach, _alone_ , her friends had still yet to show. They weren’t normally all late, just Catra and subsequently, Adora. 

It wasn’t even that great of weather for a beach night, she already knew this night was gonna be so lame. She didn’t expect the cold and was shivering in the thin sweater she wore, and god _can they just get here already._

As she sat in the sand facing the ocean, she heard a soft, “Oh,” a few feet behind her. She turned around and saw Sea Hawk, and her brain erupted in an explosion of _oh my god I am going to actually kill every single one of my friends oh my GOD._

They stared at each other for a few seconds, both in shock, before Sea Hawk said, “Scorpia said I was meeting her,” to which Mermista rolled her eyes and replied, “And I thought I was meeting with Glimmer and the group.” 

Mermista hadn’t seen Sea Hawk quite this… somber before. He was still standing behind her, unsure of what to do. She had a moment of weakness and said, “Ugh, whatever. Can you build a fire? I am literally going to freeze,” and wrapped her arms tighter around her body. 

Although there was no verbal response, Sea Hawk seemed to agree and immediately began building up wood in the large pit that was on the sand. He had a fire within a few minutes, which was not surprising. He was still standing awkwardly to the side, and Mermista thought _God, I really have to do everything huh,_ before patting the spot next to her as an indication to sit. 

As they sat in silence for a few moments, staring at the flickering flame with the sound of rushing water in the background, it was oddly… peaceful. Still, Mermista felt like something had to be said. 

“You know, sometimes I really hate our friends,” she said, running a finger through the sand. Sea Hawk looked at her before turning back to the fire, replying, “I’m… sorry. I think this is my fault.”

Mermista gave him a sharp look, her confusion visible. It’s not like he planned this, why is he sorry? He finally continued, saying, “Well, it’s just… obvious. That I like you. And everyone’s been pushing me to talk about it, but obviously I don’t want to, as I’m sure you’re the same. I guess they got sick of me not listening to them. So. Sorry,” while scratching the side of his neck. 

_Stop looking at his neck okay, this is not the time to be lame oh my god._

They still weren’t looking at each other, but Mermista finally admitted, “Maybe we…. Should. Talk about it, I mean. Otherwise, they may just keep setting us up like this.”

She saw his face crumble, which didn’t really make sense, but then he opened his mouth and said something that made _less_ sense. 

“It’s okay, Mermista. I know. That you don’t like me. It’s fine! I love being your friend, it’ll just… take time. Until I get over you,” Sea Hawk said, tentatively. _’What?’_ Mermista’s brain practically shouted. She felt something rush through her, confidence? Stupidity? She turned and grabbed Sea Hawk’s arm, forcing her to look at her.

“Sea Hawk… I- who told you that? I _do_ like you, dumbass. I’m just bad at like, expressing myself. I thought it was obvious,” she said, staring intently at him. His eyes grew wet which like, would have been lame if it were any other situation. 

“You… like me? In a romantic way? Not in a, ‘we’re friends and I go to your store way too often and eat all your whipped cream’ way?” Sea Hawk asked, eyes wide. Mermista gave a small laugh, which only made him go even more teary-eyed. 

“Yeah, I just said that, weirdo. I’m sorry that you thought… that like, I didn’t like you. I was just… scared. That you’d find out I’m too boring for you, or I’m not fun-” Mermista had started to say before Sea Hawk loudly interrupted her, “What?”. She could practically hear the thousand question marks. 

“Mermista, I… I don’t even know how to explain how I feel. You could _never_ be boring to me, or not fun, or anything bad! You’re _wonderful!_ You’re the smartest person I know, you’ve accomplished so much, you’re… you! I thought that, well, I wasn’t enough for you, or perhaps when you found out I was trans, you-” but was then interrupted by Mermista, almost yelling, “What!? No! Sea Hawk! I’m… I’m sorry. That you doubted yourself. You were always enough for me, I just like… was scared. But I’m not anymore. I’m not,” she finished with a small grin, both arms on Sea Hawk’s shoulders. 

Sea Hawk was fully crying at this point, but still managed to get out, “Mermista,” before they crashed into each other, hugging like the other was a life raft and they were about to drown. Mermista even felt a few tears slip out of her eyes, which was, like, not her highest point.

As they pulled away slightly, she let out a small laugh and asked, “Are you sure you didn’t like, plan this, as inspiration for your book?”

Sea Hawk laughed loudly, scaring away a few seagulls nearby. “No, my dear. I assure you I did not,” he said, the words _’my dear’_ making Mermista’s heart almost beat out of her chest. She had been the most vulnerable she’d been like, ever, so she figured it couldn’t hurt to keep going. “Just like, letting you know, uh. I do like it when you call me that, but like, it’s whatever,” Mermista said, trying to be casual but the nervousness in her voice was as clear as the moon. 

Sea Hawk somehow swooned while still sitting down, and replied, “Well, my dear, I’m glad you do. I enjoy saying it greatly,” and smiled. They both simply stared and smiled at each other, Sea Hawk’s wide and obvious while Mermista’s was small but still sincere. 

“If you’re interested… I was instructed to bring supplies for smores and I think, frankly, it would be a great waste if we did not utilize them,” said Sea Hawk, breaking the comfortable silence. Mermista placed her hand over his and replied, “Yeah, I think that’d be cool. But if you’re the type to burn the shit out of the marshmallow I’m like, totally gonna break up with you,” which only earned a grin out of Sea Hawk. 

As it turned out, Sea Hawk was excellent at gauging how close the marshmallow should be to the flame to get that perfect, crunchy golden-brown. Mermista joked about his affinity for fire, which in turn he replied with, “Ah yes, but without my fire skills, we wouldn’t be here in the first place!” 

As Mermista was on her third smore and Sea Hawk his fourth, Mermista decided she had made the utterly perfect concoction and insisted Sea Hawk take a bite. As she placed it near his mouth, he bit down, causing marshmallows and chocolate to ooze out the side and onto his face. He made a muffled, “Ummf!” noise which only made Mermista giggle. She’d rather be caught dead than giggle in front of anyone else, but she decided with Sea Hawk, it was okay. 

As Sea Hawk tried to get all of the mess off with his tongue and finally resorting to a spare napkin, Mermista was struck with just how real it all was. They were here, just the two of them, happy and content. Their feelings were mutual and spoken, something that Mermista thought would possibly never happen. She found her hand moving toward Sea Hawk’s face on its own accord, lightly cupping his cheek, forcing his eyes to meet hers. As she leaned forward slightly, she asked in a hushed tone, “Is this okay?” to which he quickly nodded his head in agreement. Mermista was met with slightly chapped, but soft lips that tasted like chocolate. She decided she could get used to this. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Mermista prepared two coffees to go, one oat milk toffee latte with extra whip and one oat milk flat white, she decided that if one more customer came up complaining about something that totally did not warrant a complaint, she was going to pour vanilla syrup all over herself. 

It had been a rough shift, as she worked alone for the majority and had to face an unexpected afternoon rush. For some reason, customers were especially vicious today, complaining about her attitude _to her face_ and demanding to speak to the owner, before becoming extremely red when they realized who they were talking to. One guy had insisted she remake his blended caramel drink _three times_ because it ‘just didn’t taste right’. 

As she said her goodbyes to Bow, she found herself so mentally exhausted that she almost called Sea Hawk to say she couldn’t come, but she knew she would feel better once she was alone with him. It’d been a few months since the fated beach incident, and Mermista had been spending more and more time at Sea Hawk’s apartment than her own. Sure, the main reason is that he’s there, but there was something just so _comfortable_ about his place that made her choose it rather than her place. It was white and soft blue everywhere, with blankets thrown over almost every chair and countless fisherman’s sweaters for her to steal, not to mention his dog Boat who had utterly won over Mermista’s heart. 

The drive to his place wasn’t long, but by the time she arrived she was ready to throw herself into bed and never leave again, like, ever. 

She inserted her key into the lock, which was given due to Mermista’s constant habit of showing up unannounced because she just _had_ to tell Sea Hawk something and it could not wait. It was quiet when she stepped in but heard Sea Hawk’s voice call out, “In here!” from his bedroom. As she walked into his room, she almost dropped the two coffees she was holding. 

On the bed, Sea Hawk had laid out her favorite blanket and had adorned it with some of his comfy PJ’s, Indian takeout, and about 4 different brands of sweet junk food. She was going to possibly pass out, and like, die. 

As Mermista stared at Sea Hawk, he started acting nervous, explaining, “Hi, honey! Bow texted me saying you had a bad day, so I got some of your favorite stuff together, as sort of a ‘Cheer Up Mermista’ surprise! Is it, are you okay?”. 

No one had ever done anything related to this for Mermista before. When she had a bad day at work she usually remedied it with ice cream and trashy TV. She thought she might actually cry which is like, super lame. Once she saw the tub of non-dairy mint chocolate chip ice cream, she snapped, “I just, what? This is like, super sweet. But, you know, you didn’t have to. Why did you-” but was interrupted when Sea Hawk stood and put his arms on her hips, replying, “Because, I love you, dearest.” 

She had grown close enough to Sea Hawk to not feel _totally_ lame about crying, but as tears ran down her face she decided she didn’t give a fuck whether this was lame or not. “Oh, Sea Hawk. You know I love you too,” she replied in a low, quiet voice, a smile stretching across her face. His response was just a small grin, with a delighted, “I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! I would love kudos/comments/feedback, this is my third fic and I want to know how I'm doing!


End file.
